CONSERVATION OF YEAR 2020

MOMENTUM

Physics Lab
PICHITPHON KEMPHETCH 616029
SIWAKORN KHEANGTONG 6161040
RAPHIPHAN LIMBUNDEE 616202

report APINYA UNGJAROENSUP 6161239

Introduction

Law of conservation of momentum

states that the total momentum before and
after collision is equal for two colliding
objects in an isolated system. The amount of
momentum lost by one object will be similar
to that gained by the other. In other words,
the net momentum of that system will
remain constant if there are no external
forces acting on it; meaning that we will be
able to predict the final velocity or
momentum of the colliding objects if the
initial one is given. Two-particles collision
can be divided into two different types:
elastic and inelastic. Elastic collision is when
the objects bounce apart after they collide.
On the contrary, inelastic is a collision in
which the objects stick together after their
collision.

Objective
The objective of the experiment is to
demonstrate the Law of the Conservation of
the Momentum.
MATERIALS

1 LOW FRICTION
2 VERNIER CART
VERNIER TRACK

STOP WATCH MASS SCALE

SET UP
PROCEDURE
DATA AND RESULTS
ELASTIC BEFORE COLLISION

ELASTIC AFTER COLLISION

INELASTIC BEFORE COLLISION

INELASTIC AFTER COLLISION

 ANALYSIS
The results from our experiment suggests that the momentum
of both inelastic and elastic collisions is conserved. This can be
proven by the low percent errors which are 4.1 and 5.5 percent in
inelastic and elastic collision respectively. In terms of velocity,
the elastic way still remains the same whereas that of the inelastic
decreases due to the mass added. Our lab activity can thus be
considered successful.

CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that the momentum of
both elastic and inelastic collision was conserved
during the lab activity as the total momentum of
the two carts before the collision was equal to the
one after the collision. Nevertheless, there were a
few percentages of differences due to the impact
of external forces and human errors.

RECOMMENDATION
The difficulty in the experiment was the time as we can not
record the exact time of the cart when it hit another one, and the
force that we use are not exactly the same in every trial. To improve
the experiment for the accurate result, we should focus more on the
force we use by using the same person to push the Vernier cart and
also have at least two people to record the time in order to have
more accurate results.